Wait for it ...

One of the most difficult things a touted recruit has to do in college is bide her time.

Starting gigs in college lineups don’t often materialize during the season, after all. If they do, there are always multiple players jostling for the same spot.

Chisom Okpala was an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American last season.

Even she couldn’t get playing time her freshman year at Long Beach State.

“High school volleyball is a lot different than college,” said Okpala, once a Yorba Linda resident. “I had a chance to learn (in college), but it was frustrating to practice every day and not be able to go into matches.

“As a freshman, I had a lot to learn from people older than me. I knew I could be of some contribution to the team, and that’s all I wanted.”

Okpala is a 6-foot-2 middle blocker by way of Valencia High.

She was a two-sport letterman there, an all-league recipient in volleyball and track and field.

She was also an ace player for the So-Cal Juniors Volleyball Club and an Orange County champion in the high jump.

Long Beach State – a perennial Big West Conference contender – recruited her to play volleyball.

“I’m very competitive, so I’ve always wanted to get better,” Okpala said. “If I had six points the last game, then I wanted seven the next game. If there was a middle (blocker) on the other team scoring, my goal would be to shut them down.”

Okpala played in two sets her freshman year. She tallied one kill and a solo block.

Her work ethic never wavered though.

“I knew that people were always watching me,” she said. “Coaches were watching me. And if I worked hard, then they would see my ability. I wouldn’t say I was content with not playing, but I knew I would be successful if I worked hard.”

Haleigh Hampton, Long Beach State’s premier middle blocker, tore her right labrum prior to the start of the 2012 season.

Okpala filled her void, magnificently.

The sophomore finished second on the team with 303 kills. She hit .328 and averaged more than three kills a set in Big West play.

Her 124 blocks led the 49ers.

Okpala was named First Team All-Big West at season’s end, one of six underclassmen to receive that honor.

“I had no idea that I was doing so well,” she said of last fall. “I would look up at the scoreboard, or they would tell us our points, and I wouldn’t believe how many I had.

“I was always just trying to help my teammates, and my teammates were always trying to help me.”

Okpala has started all 13 matches in 2013. She is third on the team with 116 kills and tops in total blocks with 60.

“I want to take care of my position so everyone else can worry about themselves,” she said. “You have to work on doing your responsibilities and being accountable. I want to be accountable for my position so the game can come easier for everyone else.”

Long Beach State is 7-6 through the first month of the season.

“Our goal as a team is to make it to the playoffs,” Okpala said. “For me, the goal is to get better at things I wasn’t good at last year while adding onto things I was good at last year.

“I want to be a better all-around player who people can trust to make plays that aren’t expected.”